No replies to this topic

[Frank SF]

Desi de multa vreme nu mai se obisnuieste discutarea Marilor premii de F1, saptamina asta la Spa din cauza ploii intervenite pe final de cursa am vazut citeva ture nebune, pur si simplu nebune...

Hamilton wins after late-race drama at Spa
http://www.formula1....008/9/8329.html
McLaren�s Lewis Hamilton scored a sensational fifth season victory at Spa on Sunday afternoon - just when it seemed that Ferrari�s Kimi Raikkonen was on course to emulate Jim Clark�s feat of four-in-a-row Belgian success after dominating the race.

With eight laps left to run Raikkonen, who had taken the lead on the second lap after Hamilton spun at La Source, had a 2.1s lead over the Englishman. The latter was on a charge but lost further time lapping Williams' Kazuki Nakajima, before rain out the back of the circuit rendered the surface a skating rink, and suddenly Hamilton was right with Raikkonen after the Finn lost 1.3s in the middle sector on the 42nd lap.

Going into the chicane Hamilton squeezed alongside Raikkonen but was obliged to surrender the position after missing the exit to the chicane as the Finn moved over on him. He then dived ahead of the Ferrari on the run into La Source, and seemed to have it in the bag. This cliffhanger still had a final instalment, however, as Hamilton ran off the road at Pouhon and surrendered the lead again to Raikkonen, who promptly spun and handed it back.

Worse was to come for Ferrari, for as Hamilton eased away, Raikkonen spun and crashed before the chicane and threw away eight crucial points. Thus, as Hamilton took his overall score to 80 points, Felipe Massa brought his Ferrari home second for 72. Raikkonen stays on 57, one behind sixth-placed Robert Kubica who has 58.

In the final melee a rash of pits stops to swap to wet tyres saw Renault�s Fernando Alonso drop from fourth place before scrabbling back to that position, but a brilliant Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber passed four cars on his wets to snatch the final podium place on the line.

Sebastien Bourdais was on track for a great fourth but also lost out, finishing seventh behind Alonso, Toro Rosso team mate Sebastian Vettel and Kubica. Timo Glock took the final point for Toyota, as Red Bull�s Mark Webber, McLaren�s Heikki Kovalainen, Red Bull�s David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg in the Williams, Force India�s Adrian Sutil, Nakajima in the other Williams, Honda�s Jenson Button, Toyota�s Jarno Trulli and Force India�s Giancarlo Fisichella followed them home.

Kovalainen, who had made a terrible start and then collided with Webber, earning himself a drive-through penalty, stopped on the last lap but was classified 10th. Besides Raikkonen, the other non-finishers were Honda�s Rubens Barrichello and Renault�s Nelson Piquet, the younger Brazilian crashing out.

�It was just a fantastic race!� Hamilton said. �I just had to keep pushing, pushing, pushing, and I just said to myself it is never over until the fat lady sings!�

The manoeuvre between Hamilton and Raikkonen at the chicane on lap 42 is currently under investigation by the race stewards.

Massa inherits Belgian win after Hamilton penalised
http://www.formula1....008/9/8334.html
Ferrari�s Felipe Massa has been declared the winner of Sunday�s Belgian Grand Prix after McLaren� Lewis Hamilton was handed a 25-second time penalty following the race. Hamilton drops to third place as a result, with BMW Sauber�s Nick Heidfeld moving up to second. McLaren plan to appeal the decision.

Hamilton was penalised after stewards decided he had gained an advantage by cutting the final chicane in his late-race battle with Ferrari�s Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen crashed out shortly after the incident, having the led the bulk of the race up to that point.

"I have often said that the race is not over until the official results are published and that was the case today," said Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali. "As usual, Ferrari will not comment on the stewards' decision. After the race, we were called to the stewards and we explained our position.

"We are very disappointed for Kimi, who had driven a great race and deserved the win, especially at this rather difficult time. This result is obviously very important for our championship hopes: now we must maintain maximum concentration and prepare as well as possible for the forthcoming races."

McLaren insisted they had little choice but to appeal the stewards' decision, given that Hamilton had immediately surrendered the lead back to Raikkonen on the start-finish straight, before then passing the Finn going into the La Source hairpin.

"We looked at all our data and also made it available to the FIA stewards," said the team. "It showed that, having lifted, Lewis was 6km/h slower than Kimi as they crossed the start-finish line. Having passed the lead back to Kimi, Lewis repositioned his car, moving across and behind Kimi to the right-hand line and then out-braked him into the hairpin. Based on this data, we have no option other than to register our intention to appeal."

The revised result means that rather than extending his championship lead over Massa, Hamilton now sees it cut, with the Briton heading the Brazilian by just two points, 76 to 74, with five races remaining.

Assuming their right to appeal is accepted, McLaren's case against Hamilton's penalty will be heard by the FIA's International Court of Appeal at a date to be determined.